I am posting this for Kim who submitted her thoughts through the comment form.

I’m just wondering if there’s any program you know of (or team of dentists) that is willing to do some sort of a study with me. I have 2 tooth that are 2 toned from a filling, bad breath (I brush my teeth twice a day and use a mouth wash) My teeth isn’t white.. it’s more of a yellowish color. I came from Philippines and didn’t have money to go to the dentists. Got petitioned here in the USA in 2002. In Philippines, I didn’t think of much of having a yellowish full set of teeth. I was 15 when we migrated here in the US, and going to school with other kids and race (even my own race) I’ve always felt embarrassed to smile and talk with my hand over my mouth.. 🙁 I have a very low self esteem and now I’m 25 and It’s getting in the way of what I want to do as a career. I wanna be a nurse, but I don’t feel comfortable in doing it because I feel like I can’t tell other people/patients to be healthy if they see my teeth is very unhealthy.

I am unemployed with 2 little kids (5 and 2) and have medical and it doesn’t cover any dental. If you know of someone who will be willing to look at my condition, I will be open to anything. I just want to be healthy and have a confident I think I deserve. Also, having kids, I want to live long and I don’t know if this bad teeth will cost my future health. I’ve been more concern with my teeth when I learned in school about what teeth can do to your over all health. So, PLEASE! Any information will help. And yes, I know you’re from Honduras, but I’m desperate and have been searching for days as to where I can get a specialist to look at my teeth for free. And I know it’s a long shot, but I really don’t have money and I know it costs a fortune to get dental work done.

Thank you for the time and thank you in advance for any information and any replies is greatly appreciated.

Hi Kim,
From the sounds of it, your teeth could use a cleaning and some fluoride application by a dental hygienist to remove the yellowish color/stain. There are a number of ways to get low cost dental work done. Depending on where you live, there many be schools of dentistry who will perform dental work at a reduced rate, volunteer programs that offer free services to low income individuals and/or government programs that may cover the cost of a visit to the dentist depending on your financial and family status.

As for the bad breath, you can:

Brush your teeth more frequently throughout the day (don’t forget to brush your tongue and gums)

Use mouthwash

Chew gum or suck on hard candies that have a minty flavor

Drink water. Drier mouths are more odorous.

Lastly, don’t let the color of your teeth or bad breath get in the way of following your dream of becoming a nurse. No one’s teeth are perfectly white anyway! Do your best to combat these problems as you work on becoming a nurse, but don’t let it stop you from making progress. Remember that nobody expects perfection because they aren’t perfect themselves.